If I remove all the periphery in my life, going on a date with Walker would be number one on my list of things I’d want to do. But I’m not single, I’m not in my twenties, I don’t have just me to answer to. Technically, I’m still married. I have two children. I have a slew of problems and baggage that come with me, and was not planning on rebounding or dating or even considering the possibility of love for at least … oh, ten years or so?
When the doorbell downstairs rings, my heart leaps like a stallion hopping one of those really high obstacle bars. I feel it in my throat, and nerves flutter out to every appendage.
“Hi, I think we’ve met, I’m Walker.” Since my condo is about as big as my master suite in the house I shared with Shane, I hear that deep voice all the way upstairs in my bathroom.
“Dahlia, nice to see you again,” I hear my sister say.
The girls are now yelping and curious, and I know they must be attacking the man before he can even walk in through the doorframe.
Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs, I hurry downstairs. It’s very chivalrous of him to come in and get me, but I almost didn’t want to have to explain to the girls who Walker is or where I’m going. It’s going to be confusing for them, and they still don’t really grasp that their mother and father are no longer going to live under the same roof. I think, because they’ve grown up with an athlete father, they think Shane is just on some extended road trip.
“Do you go to the potty, too? You can use our potty,” Noelle is telling Walker as I step off the last stair.
“Popsicle?” I watch as Breanna walks over to him, her tiny hands pulling at his pant leg.
“Careful, if you don’t set boundaries, they’ll walk all over you.” I smirk, and Walker turns around.
Good lord, the man should come with a warning label. It’s a crime to be that handsome, in his black, perfectly fitted jeans and chambray button-down. His hair has been recently buzzed, with a little notch near his temple for some style. I’ve always gone for men with thicker hair, something to grab onto, but there is something almost military-hot about Walker’s preferred hairstyle.
“Mommy, you look pretty!” Noelle gushes, running over to bend down and examine the buckles on my magenta shoes.
“Thanks, sweetheart.” I ruffle her hair, but let her play with the shoes she probably thinks she’ll be using for dress-up next week.
“Wow,” Walker breathes, and I know he’s holding his tongue, which only makes me blush more.
Dahlia gives me a thumbs-up and fans her own face behind Walker’s back, so apparently she approves of the demi-god standing in our foyer. When I told her he asked me on a date, she practically shoved me out the door that night. It’s been two days since then, and she hasn’t stopped talking about how proud of me she is for getting back up on the horse. Or stopped making comments about how I should get under the horse, especially if he has a certain appendage that is horse-sized.
“So, you two crazy kids don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got it covered. Stay out all night, if you want.” Dahlia winks at me.
“You’re not coming home!” Noelle screeches, as if Dahlia has just announced the end of the world.
I shoot my sister a look that says thanks a lot, but bend to my oldest daughter’s eye level before hugging her. “Not at all. I’ll be home and come kiss you good night, even if you’re sleeping. I’m just getting a bite to eat with my friend Walker here, and then I’ll be back.”
Breanna eyes Walker cautiously, and Noelle looks over my shoulder at him.
“This is my Mommy,” Noelle tells him.
I can’t see Walker because of the way I’m holding my daughter, but I hear him say, “I know. She is the best mommy in the world.”
It wasn’t a question, and he wasn’t treating Noelle like a child. He was trying to follow her lead.
“Like Daniel Tiger says, you need to stop and listen to stay safe,” Noelle tells him.
My mind whirls as I try to keep any reaction in check. Dahlia’s eyes flash to mine, because essentially what my five-year-old is telling him is that he should not dare to put me in harm’s way. That he needs to stop to keep me safe.
And now I have to wonder just how much she heard when I thought I was successfully hiding it from her all those years.
“I’ll always keep her safe.” Walker’s voice is dead serious.
I stand after kissing Noelle and patting her on the back, trying to keep my tone light. “Come give Mommy a kiss, my little!”
Breanna bumbles over, jabbering in her two-year-old speak, and kisses me. “Wuv you!”
“I love you both so much. Be good for Aunt D, and I’ll be in to kiss you when I get home.”
“Can we play stickers in the morning?” Noelle asks, clearly jumping from one topic to the next in the way only a child can.
“Of course.” I affectionately rub her cheek.
“Ready?” Walker asks, and my stomach flips over.
How am I going to make it all night without melting into him?
“Yes.” I smile, truly meaning it.
We grab my coat, which he helps me shrug into in the most gentlemanly of ways, and then head out the door to lots of waves and blown kisses.
Walker cringes as I walk down the front sidewalk of the condo, my heels clacking.
“Those might not be the best choice of footwear for what we’re about to do. But you know what? Keep them on. It’s worth it. They’re too sexy to forego for practicality.”
The way he’s staring at my legs, accentuated by the heels, both make me chuckle and feel ridiculously lusted after. Something about the way Walker always regards me makes me feel powerful, something I’ve never truly felt as an adult woman.
“Where are we going, though?” My smile is coy, and I’m fully aware that I’m flirting.
“Hop in, and I’ll show you.” Walker’s grin is just as sly and sexy.
My heart skips four beats, not just two. And as he helps me up into his truck, with his hand lingering at the small of my back just a little too long, I know I’m already falling head over heels for the man.
Oh, lord, please don’t let my foolish heart be broken once more.
14
Hannah
“You’re such an athlete.”
I snort-laugh as I take the fuzzy socks from Walker’s hands, pulling them over my bare feet. When he said that my heels weren’t really going to work for this date, he wasn’t kidding. Not only do I have no socks to put on, but getting my feet back into heels after ice-skating is not going to be pleasant.
“What?” Walker’s grin is so boyish as he glances up at me from where he’s tying his skates.
“Taking me to do sports as a first date? What, you’re in that much withdrawal from baseball season?” I tease him, but it’s all in good fun.
He sits down on the bleacher below mine and helps me into my socks. His hands are on my bare ankle, and I shiver. Not from the cold, though it is pretty chilly in here, but from the contact. Walker is helping me into the skates, lacing them up, taking care of me. It’s extremely sweet.
“If you really don’t want to, we can go to dinner or something. I just thought … you only get out of the house every so often. I wanted to make this fun, do something different than just sitting at a restaurant. We can do that anytime, or I can cook. Ask Colleen, I’m not a bad cook. But you only get one first date. I wanted to make it memorable.”